“Deal with it.” King tried to roll over, but Danby just scurried to his other side.
“I cannot, my lord. I tried to tell you last night. It’s about the duke.”
“The duke…” King muttered. He was vaguely aware that his father was in some sort of trouble. He and the duke wereestranged, which was to say that they hadn’t exchanged more than a handful of words in the last ten years. Still, he heard news of the Duke of Avebury from time to time. It was inevitable, no matter how hard he tried to avoid his sire’s name. Someone had even mentioned His Grace last night. In fact, that might have been what started King’s heavy drinking. And now Danby was mentioning the duke as well, and Danby knew he was strictly forbidden from ever bringing up Avebury’s name.
Gradually, King became aware that though the knocking on his door had ceased, there was still a sound of not knocking, but banging and clanking and heavy thudding. What the holy hell was happening in his house at barely—he squinted at the clock on the mantel—half past nine in the morning? His staff knew he did not like to be disturbed until afternoon.
“Help me up, Danby.” King began to feel he might need to rise from the floor for whatever was coming. Danby offered an arm. King tried to stand, found that too ambitious, and sank into a chair. Danby began to speak, but King lifted a hand. “I don’t know what you are about to say.” He heard more concerning noises coming from below. Men speaking as they seemed to be passing in and out of his house. “I think whatever it is, I shall need a drink first.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Danby fetched him a brandy, and King drank it down. Thus fortified, he nodded to the valet.
“I have concerning news, my lord. The duke has been found guilty.”
“Guilty.” King stared at the valet, whose face was white as the cravats he starched. “What do you mean?”
Danby folded his hands before him. “My lord, I know you do not wish to speak of your father—”
“He’s the duke. Not my father.”
“Yes, my lord. I know you do not wish to speak of the Duke of Avebury, but surely even you are aware of the accusations made against him.”
When King didn’t answer, Danby swallowed.
“The charges of treason, my lord?”
King had heard, of course. He even knew that the duke was on trial. It wasn’t often the entire House of Lords was summoned by the lord high steward to act as triers. It was in all the papers. Everyone knew Kingston and Avebury were estranged, which was the only reason he had not been vilified by the press as well. A charge of treason was a serious matter, but then, Avebury had serious enemies. They would have to concoct quite the story to have any hope of ruining the duke.
“Is the trial concluded?” King asked, putting the snifter to his lips again, even though it was empty.
“It is, my lord.”
“That’s done, then.” And yet the sounds coming from below concerned him.
“Unfortunately, my lord, as I said, the verdict did not go as we had hoped.”
The room spun again, and this time it had nothing to do with the amount of alcohol he had imbibed. “Guilty,” King said, the word making sense now.
“Yes, my lord, the duke was found guilty of aiding and abetting the enemy. He sold secrets to France and has been placed in prison, awaiting his sentencing.”
King stared at Danby. His mind was slow to comprehend what he was being told, but as realization sank in, his body went cold. “It will be death. Execution, no doubt.”
Danby pressed his hands together tightly. King watched the skin turn white where Danby’s fingers met. “The duke has been stripped of his titles and privileges, my lord.”
King found it difficult to draw in his next breath. His throat was tight, and his skin covered with chill bumps. He did not love his father—he did not even like the man—but the duke was his only close relative, and he would prefer the duke lived.
“That’s not all, my lord.”
King stared at the valet. Of course that wasn’t all. When one’s life was being smashed to rubble, best to smash it into oblivion. “There will be an attainder by verdict,” King said, his lips saying what his mind would not allow him to contemplate.
“Yes, my lord. The matter will come before the lords and commons later this week.”
“It will pass,” King said.
“Most likely, my lord.”
“And then I will be stripped of my title and properties.”
